ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,482 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $278,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Avion Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 48.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 142.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 496 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. 80.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CL. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.50.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE CL traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $87.13. 6,005,071 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,627,129. The company has a market capitalization of $71.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.42. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52-week low of $67.62 and a 52-week high of $90.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $87.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.78.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 11.82% and a return on equity of 509.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. Colgate-Palmolive’s payout ratio is presently 69.06%.

Insider Activity at Colgate-Palmolive

In related news, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 29,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total value of $2,502,634.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 301,343 shares in the company, valued at $25,330,892.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Daniels sold 3,538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.67, for a total value of $299,562.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,698 shares in the company, valued at $5,054,629.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Noel R. Wallace sold 29,772 shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.06, for a total transaction of $2,502,634.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 301,343 shares in the company, valued at $25,330,892.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 232,371 shares of company stock worth $19,505,099. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Colgate-Palmolive Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal and Home Care segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, bar and liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and antiperspirants, skin health products, dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, and other related items.